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Haematology
Conference
Delhi
Haematology Society held its annual meeting at St
Stephen's Hospital on 4th May, 02. It was
attended by 130 delegates from all over Delhi. The meeting
began with lunch and was followed by scientific sessions
and a General Body Meeting. Prof Mammen Chandy, Head of
Haematology at CMC Vellore gave the 1st 'S K
Sood Oration'. The topic of the oration was 'Role of Iron
in Haematology'. The Army Research and Referral Centre won
the prize for the best paper and the best poster award was
won by AIIMS. |
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Summer
Camp 2002
This
annual event, which is eagerly awaited by
St
Stephen's Hospital staff children was organised at
Queen Mary's School. It began on the 10th
of June 2002 with an inaugural address by Dr Mathew
Varghese, Director.
The two weeks programme consisted of
various activities like aerobics, singing, dancing,
quizzes, group games and swimming. While the creative
talent in the little ones was surfacing with plasticine,
the other children had sessions in Origami - the Japanese
art of paper folding. Special thanks to Ms Neelam Kapoor,
Principal, Queen Mary's School for the use of swimming
pool. Children enjoyed the refreshments and lunches. We
are grateful to the Patients Welfare Society for
sponsoring the gifts and prizes of the winners of various
competitions.
The
teachers - Mrs Benn, Mrs Vineeta Solomon, Mrs Vineeta
Harrison, and Ms Shefali Lal deserve our thanks. Without
their hard work so much could never have been
accomplished. Rt Rev Bishop Karam Masih graced the closing
ceremony of this happy event. |
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Thalassemia Day Care Unit
The
Thalassemia Day Care Unit was inaugurated Hon
Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi at St
Stephen's Hospital on 11th July, 02. The unit is
functioning in association with Thalassemics India.Thalassemia
is a genetic blood disorder where the bone marrow produces
defective haemoglobin. As a result, children with
thalassemia are anaemic and need regular (monthly)
transfusion of blood. They also need drugs to remove the
excessive deposits of iron in the body. The treatment is
very cumbersome and expensive. The complications of
prolonged treatment, infections from the transfusions and
cost of maintenance treatment are the major risk factors.
As an estimate there are nearly 1,00,000 thalassemic
children in our country.
The
facility at St Stephen's Hospital helps children get their
transfusion conveniently. Facilities for diagnosis of
thalassemia, screening and genetic counseling are also
available at St Stephen's Hospital.
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Donate Eyes
India
has 15 million visually impaired persons of which 2.5
million suffer from corneal blindness. Causes include
inflammation, injuries, malnutrition and congenital
disorders. Although there is an annual demand for 75,000
to 1,00,000 corneas, only 16,000 corneas are donated in
India each year.
This
brings to focus the need for eye donation. Pledging one's
eyes and those of the members of the family is one way of
helping. The second is motivating friends and relatives to
donate eyes of the deceased.
All
types of Optical Penetrating Keratoplasty is being done in
our hospital by the eye department.
Keratoplasty (Corneal Replacement) is of three
types:
1.
Optical Penetrating Keratoplasty: The cornea is replaced
to provide vision to those who cannot see due to an opaque
cornea.
2.
Therapeutic Keratoplasty: Diseased cornea is replaced to
gain control of the disease, which might damage the
vision.
3.
Tectonic Graft: Cornea is replaced to give support to the
tissues in the eye.
St
Stephen's Hospital is also starting a team of volunteers
who would be trained as grief counsellors. Nursing staff
who wish to be trained in counseling may contact Dr Nidhi
in the eye department..
Dr Krishna
Vaitheeswaran
Head, Department
of Ophthalmology
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Welcome New Consultants
Dr
Samanjoy Mukherjee (Cardiology)
Dr
Hukum Singh (Neuro
Surgery)
Dr
Dushyant Nadar (Urology)
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Wedding Bells
Ms
Jincy (Tutor, School of Nursing) with Mr Jerry.
Ms
Reeba (Tutor, School of Nursing) with Mr Shiju.
Dr
Jacob (Registrar, Paediatrics) with Ms Vinitha. |
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Lamp
Lighting Ceremony
The
lamp lighting ceremony of student nurses of batch 2001 was
organised on 19th of June, 02. The Chief Guest was Ms
Kiran Walia, MLA South Delhi. Outstanding students with
distinction were honored with shields.
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Delhi
Pharmacy Council
Mr
A K Adhikari has been nominated by the Delhi Government as
a member of the 5th Delhi Pharmacy Council. He is the only
non-government member of the council. Congratulations!
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Choir
Concert
The
St Stephen's Hospital Choir presented a concert of
Christian music titled "Thou Art My Rock" on
Friday, the 9th of August 2002 in the Conference Hall. A
full house of invitees thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated
the performance. The Choir was led by Dr Sudhir Joseph and
accompanied by the guest organist, Mr Pandiaraj Ratnasingh.
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Gender
Harassment Committee
'Gender
Harassment Committee' has been constituted at St Stephen's
Hospital as per the Supreme Court guidelines. Any incident
occuring in the hospital campus, involving the staff or
patient will be looked into by this committee which would
be headed by the Nursing Superintendent.
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Diabetic
Clinic
Time:
2.00pm-3.00pm every Monday
Venue:
Medicine OPD
The
Diabetes Management Team of Doctors, Nurse Educators and
Dieticians is headed by Dr H P Paljor. Diabetic Clinic
offers free blood sugar testing. Patients with diabetes
related eye problems (Diabetic Retinopathy) will be
referred to the Eye OPD where 'Retina Clinic" will be
held at the same time. Diet counselling, foot care and
self administration of insulin will be taught to the
patients and relatives. Informative videos will also be
shown during these hours.
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"Ram
Leela"
The
St. Stephen's Hospital Patient Welfare Society completes
29 years of service in the hospital this year and the
hospital completes 117 years of humanitarian service. On
this occasion the Society has organised a performance of
Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra's Ballet "Ram". The
performance will be held on 9th October, 02.
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Quit Smoking
The
habit of smoking begins from the very first puff taken
most often in late school or early college life. It is
built upon individual perceptions of character building.
There is obviously a very strong influence of the family
and education. Equally strong is the influence of friends
on the moulding of personality in those impressionable
years of school and college.
Smoking
is an addiction, addiction to nicotine. It is one of the
greatest hazards to health. All smoking is potentially
damaging to the body. With each puff you take, thousands
of poisons enter your blood. Many of these poisons cause
cancer. There are approximately 4,000 poisonous substances
in cigarette smoke. 40 of them
are known cancer-causing agents. 30 percent of all
cardiovascular deaths are because of smoking.
The
alkaline pH of smoke from the tobacco used in pipes and
cigars allows sufficient absorption of nicotine from the
lining of the mouth and throat to satisfy the pipe and
cigar smokers craving for nicotine. The acidic pH of smoke
from the tobacco used in cigarettes does not get absorbed
in the mouth or throat. Cigarette smokers therefore need
to inhale smoke deep inside their lung to satisfy their
craving for nicotine.
Smoking
makes the lung prone to infection and cancer causing
agents. Diseases like chronic bronchitis and pulmonary
tuberculosis are offshoots of lung ill health most often
caused by cigarette smoking.
With
the spread of education regarding the dangers of tobacco
the incidence of smoking has considerably decreased
worldwide. It is in keeping with this worldwide initiative
that smoking cessation clinics became available in
hospitals.
Initially
smoking cessation was about counseling, incentives for
giving up smoking, group therapy and psychological
measures to counter stress and the desire to smoke. Now
with the advent of newer drugs to counteract safely and
effectively both the desire to smoke and the withdrawal
from smoking, smoking cessation has become a much more
realistic goal. There are modern treatments available to
help you quit smoking.
St
Stephens Hospital has begun a Smoking Cessation Clinic in
the division of Respiratory Medicine with effect from the
1st August 2002. A team of consultant chest physician,
technicians, psychologist and pharmacist is available on
every Wednesday at 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm in the Chest
Diseases Laboratory. Currently the sessions are conducted
free of cost and we will be happy to have cases referred
to us from any department.
Even
if one is a chain smoker for the last 20 years life can
still change for the better. Enjoy a smoking free life.
Dr
Chacko George
Consultant,
Respiratory Medicine |
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Computer
Training Centre
The
Community Health Department of St
Stephen's Hospital has started a basic
computer-training programme for rural students at
Dhankot village, near Gurgaon, Haryana. Dr Sudha
Yadav, MP of the area, inaugurated the programme
on 16th August,02.
The
training program is in collaboration with the
Kendriya Mahila Mandal of St Stephen's Hospital.
The
prime aim of the programme is to enhance computer
literacy among rural youth. So far 30 students
have enrolled at the centre.
This
is the second computer-training centre of
Community Health Department. First one was started
at its Urban Community Health Centre, Sunder
Nagari in the month of July 2002. These centers
have a special focus on encouraging computer
literacy among girls and children belonging to the
underprivileged sections in the society. |
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Towards An
Eco-Friendly Hospital
We
at St Stephen's Hospital are working towards being
an eco-friendly hospital and an ISO 14001:1996
Environment Management System certification. All
of us are aware of the problems of overcrowding,
scarcity of water, electricity and atmospheric and
water pollution prevalent in Delhi.
We
hope each one of us would commit ourselves towards
creating a cleaner and healthier environment.
The
steps we could take towards these are by:
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Conserving Water: By closing taps properly
and timely repair of leaking taps. Did you know
that the loss of water due to a leaky tap is 30
drops per minute, 381 litres per month, which
equates to 4582.36 litres of wasted water per tap
per year?
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Conserving Electricity: By switching off
lights and fans when not in use and proper use of
air-conditioning.
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Proper Bio-medical Waste Management
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Rainwater Harvesting.
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Protecting Green Areas and Planting Trees.
The
growth, education and health of the children of
India are dependent on having access to these
resources of water, electricity and cleaner air.
So,
let us help in conserving these and minimizing
environmental degradation
Dr
Ann Mathew
Consultant,
Paediatrics and Core Group Member, EMS
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Did
You Know?
St
Stephen's Hospital is one of the very few
institutions that can take pride in having a
Greenhouse. 
This has been designed by agricultural
engineers from the Indian
Agricultural
Research Institute, Pusa. A green house protects
the plants from dry heat and provides a warm humid
atmosphere. In cold conditions it protects the
plants from frost. |
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Know
the value of your traditional food!
Incredibly
healthy nutrients that helps to lower the risk of
cancer and heart disease and can actually delay
the appearance of wrinkles. The Chickpeas - (Channa
dal) variably contains high level of
anti-oxidants, proteins and minerals such as
calcium and iron compared to the common plants.
Another
Legume – Soyabean also contains antioxidants and
some minerals, but in less quantity compared to
the Chickpeas - Soybeans are known to contain
phytoestrogen (plant oestrogen) hence it is not
recommended in large amounts to small children.
However, it is excellent for menopausal age –
Chickpeas do not contain phytoestrogen and so far
have not found to cause any allergic reaction.
Chickpeas
also contain a substance that has found to promote
growth in young rats and goats – this may lead
to risk free equivalent of genetically conquered
growth hormone. Chickpeas also contain elements
that prevent wrinkling and Chick pea based
antiwrinkle creams are known in the ancient Indian
culture, which are being produced by cosmetic
companies in Germany and France. Chickpeas require
very little water for growth hence these new
developments are good news to local farmers.
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